Tuesday, July 28, 2015. Chaos and violence continue, AP reports on the
use of child soldiers in Iraq, Iraq's prime minister objects to Turkey's
bombings of northern Iraq, presidential contender Hillary Clinton has
no apparent thoughts on what to do about Iraq today, Senator Tammy
Baldwin pushes a VA reform bill, and much more.

Let's open with veterans' news. Senator Tammy Baldwin's office released the following:

Jason
Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act would provide VA with the tools
it needs to address the problem of overprescribing practices

Senators Durbin, Franken and Klobuchar join The American Legion, MOAA, AMVETS and others in endorsing legislation

WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today announced that support
continues to grow for her bipartisan legislation aimed at providing
safer and more effective pain management services
to our nation’s veterans, the Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act.

In just a month, Senator Baldwin’s bipartisan legislation
has gained support from:
Disabled American Veterans Wisconsin, Disabled American Veterans
(DAV), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), The American Legion, Paralyzed
Veterans of America (PVA), Veterans for Common Sense, Vietnam Veterans
of America (VVA), Association of the United States
Navy (AUSN), National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS),
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), American Veterans
(AMVETS), American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), National
Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), American Federation
of Government Employees (AFGE), and Trust for America's Health (TFAH).

“The sad truth is that the number of
veterans taking opioid painkillers is disproportionately high, compared
to the general population,”
saidSenator Durbin.
“The VA is exploring different ways to help veterans alleviate their
pain.
This bill assesses the scope of the issue and recommends ways to help
veterans obtain the best and safest care. I commend Senator Baldwin for
her leadership on this important issue.”

“Unfortunately, our veterans' battles don't always end when they come home,”
said Senator Franken. “Too many of our servicemembers return with
mental and physical wounds sustained while protecting our freedoms, and
I believe we have a special duty to ensure that they get the care and
support they need to cope. But we cannot continue
overprescribing and over-relying on medications that all too often lead
to tragic consequences. This bipartisan bill would help provide our
veterans with safer, more effective pain management plans.”

“As a former prosecutor, I know the
havoc drugs can wreak on families and also that every struggle with
drugs is unique—there is no one-size-fits-all strategy in this fight,”
said Senator Klobuchar. This bipartisan legislation gives the VA
the ability to offer our nation’s veterans a diverse set of proven tools
that can help combat addiction.”

“Too many of our
nation’s veterans have returned from overseas only to fight another
battle here at home. Tragically, stories like Jason Simcakoski’s exist
all around the
country, including in my home state of West Virginia. Far too many
young West Virginia veterans have faced the horrors of PTSD and failed
to receive the quality of care they deserve. These are heartbreaking
examples of the grave magnitude of overmedication,
and we must do everything in our power to prevent deadly opioid
overmedication in our VA facilities. I am proud to join with Senator
Baldwin to strengthen opioid prescribing guidelines and improve pain
management services at the VA. This legislation will not
only provide our veterans a healthier transition to civilian life, it
will save lives,”said Senator Capito.

“The American Legion applauds the
Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act and Senator Baldwin’s
efforts to reform prescribing practices for veterans,” said Ian
DePlanque, Director of the Legislative Division for The American Legion.
“Medications in and of themselves are tools
– not necessarily good, not necessarily bad – you want to make sure
you’re using the right tools in the right situation. There are other
tools that are available. Some complementary and alternative therapy
might work better for particular veterans or for veterans
that may have circumstances that are particularly exacerbating.”

“The Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act is an extremely important and timely piece of legislation,”
said VADM Norb Ryan, USN-ret., President of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA).
“MOAA fully supports this bipartisan effort and commends Senator Tammy
Baldwin for championing such a critical bill that will keep veterans
safe and provide
VA with the necessary tools to more effectively manage pain services.”

“AMVETS thanks Senator Baldwin for her
ongoing support of all American veterans and especially for her
leadership in the development and introduction of the
Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act,” said Diane M. Zumatto, AMVETS National Legislative Director.
“Once enacted, this legislation will go a long way towards reducing
veteran addiction to prescription medications, thereby greatly improving
their quality of life, their ability to secure and retain appropriate,
living-wage jobs and to continue their service to our great nation.”

“AFGE strongly supports the Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act and commends Senator Baldwin for her leadership on this critical patient safety issue for our nation’s veterans,”
said Beth Moten, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Legislative and Political Director.
“This important legislation establishes lifesaving preventive measures
that ensure safe opioid prescribing practices while expanding available
treatment
options consistent with current best practices and research.”

On August 30, 2014, U.S. Marine Veteran
Jason Simcakoski died at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center as a
result of mixed drug toxicity.
The Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act
would provide VA with the tools it needs to help prevent this type of
tragedy from occurring to other veterans and their families.

"This
is an opportunity to take all of this and learn from it. We have a
chance to create a new path; or we can continue how we currently are and
keep making the same mistakes we are today,”
said Heather Simcakoski, Jason’s widow. “When I look back at the
past, I want to know we made a difference. I want to believe we have
leaders in our country who care. I want to inspire others to never give
up because change is possible."

"This
legislation from Senator Baldwin is one of the most important actions
we can take to save the lives of our greatest assets, our veterans,”
said Marv Simcakoski, Jason’s father.

Senator
Baldwin’s bipartisan legislation, crafted in close consultation with
medical professionals, veterans service organizations, and the
Simcakoski family, focuses on strengthening the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) opioid prescribing guidelines
and improving pain management services by putting the following reforms
in place:

·Requiring
stronger opioid prescribing guidelines and education for VA providers
including stricter standards against prescribing dangerous combinations
of opioids with other drugs and
for prescribing opioids to patients struggling with mental health
issues;

·Increased
coordination and communication throughout the VA with medical
facilities, providers, patients and their families surrounding pain
management, alternative treatments for chronic
pain, and appropriate opioid therapy; and

·Holding
the VA system accountable for appropriate care and quality standards
through consistent internal audits as well as GAO reviews and reports to
Congress.

Moving from the Congress to those who want to be president, the 2016
Democratic Party presidential nominee will be decided by voters in early
to mid 2016. The declared candidates so far are (in alphabetical
order): Lincoln Chafee, Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley, Bernie
Sanders, Jim Webb, Robby Wells and Willie Wilson.

CNN notes of one, "Chafee has struggled to make much traction in the Democratic
presidential race. A recent CNN/ORC Poll showed less than 1 percent of
democrats surveyed backed Chafee, compared to 57 percent for Clinton."

Chafee was the only Republican in the Senate to vote against the
authorization for the Iraq War in 2002. He then became an independent
and is now a Democrat. Chafee is stressing his vote with regards to
press favorite Hillary Clinton who voted for the Iraq War. David Cook (Christian Science Monitor) covers
a Christian Science Monitor breakfast and neglects to record the menu
but does note that Chafee stressed the 2002 Iraq War vote:

"I did my homework, I looked carefully to see if there were weapons
of mass destruction. I didn't see it," he said. Clinton has said since
that her Iraq War vote was a mistake. When asked about polls
showing voter concerns about Clinton’s honesty and credibility, Chafee
said she had suffered “a lot of self-inflicted wounds, unfortunately.”
But, he added, after the primary season is over, he and the other
Democratic candidates would “certainly unite as Democrats to win in
2016.”

“I have a lot of work to do,” Chafee said. “The reality is that
secretary Clinton has a huge head start with endorsements and money and
the rest of us are scrambling. But I think I have the vision, ethical
standards and ideas. There’s still more to be don on fundraising and
organization, but it doesn’t discount what I bring to the table.”

Hillary, of course, refuses to discuss Iraq.

She pretends a brief aside in her ghost written book from 2014 'addressed' and 'ended' the issue. David Lightman (McClatchy Newspapers) reminds:Clinton said last year she regretted her vote. “I thought I had acted
in good faith and made the best decision I could with the information I
had. And I wasn’t alone in getting it wrong. But I still got it wrong.
Plain and simple,” she said in her book, “Hard Choices.”

And she does that to the idiotic raves of Maggie Haberman, the New York Times reporter or 'reporter' who is making a career this year of minimizing and justifying Hillary's actions.

Haberman's coverage -- including her Tweets -- border on soft core porn
-- you picture her as Brian De Palma's camera for the locker room scene
in Carrie before Sissy Spacek gets her period -- was of course
ignored by David Brock and other partisan hacks and whores last week as
they rushed to insist the New York Times was always unfair to their crush.

Possibly due to the way the Iraq War vote continues to haunt her, Hillary appears unable to take firm positions today. Akilah Johnson (Boston Globe) reports on the town hall Hillary held today:Bruce Blodgett, a software developer and conservative from Amherst,
asked for a "yes or no" answer to whether Clinton "as president" would
support the proposed pipeline -- an $8 billion project abhorred by
environmentalists -- that would transport oil from Canada to refineries
on the Gulf of Mexico.Clinton sidestepped the question, saying: "This is President Obama's decision. If it’s undecided when I become
president, I will answer your question."

Dan Merica and Jeff Zeleny (CNN) report
Blodgett's reaction to Hillary's response, "I
thought she avoided the question completely. Her excuse was she didn't
want to step on President Obama while he was still in office. I just
thought that was a very weak answer. I just wanted to know where
she stands on it one way or another."

Nancy Pelosi infamously argued that the Congress had to first pass
ObamaCare to then figure out what ObamaCare would do ("We have to pass
the bill so that you can find out what's in it"). Hillary's taking that
even further. You have to first vote her president and then, after
she's in office, she'll decide where she stands on an issue.

This refusal to press a candidate who goes around repeatedly saying "when I become president" is appalling.

She needs to be asked about Iraq repeatedly.

The Iraq War continues to this day.

She helped kick it off with her 2002 vote and her championing of the illegal war once it started.

She only (semi) turned on it after the public had.

US troops are being sent back into Iraq in a steady drip today. US
pilots fly combat missions over Iraq today. The Iraqi government,
instead of coming up with a political solution to the country's
problems, remains in gridlock.

Exactly how does Hillary plan to address any of this if elected president?

Hillary and her cult -- which includes the Times' Maggie Haberman -- are
perfectly happy to take the position that Hillary doesn't have to
answer to any of that unless "it's undecided when I become president."

In Iowa on Thursday, in response to a question from the Guardian
about whether the White House should take further steps towards arming
Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, the former Maryland governor and 2016 Democratic candidate said: “Probably, yes.”The Obama administration has long hesitated over directly arming
Kurdish militias in the north of Iraq, for fear of further aggravating
sectarian tensions. [. . .]

Doug Wilson, a top foreign policy adviser to O’Malley, made clear
that the candidate “was not unilaterally proposing that we step up
additional arms to the Kurds”. Instead, Wilson said, O’Malley would only
do so “if it was determined by the US military that it was appropriate
to up the arms to the Kurds”.

The Turkish government -- probably like many others -- is using the pretext of the Islamic State to attack Iraq.In doing so, it is violating Iraq's sovereignty yet again.This didn't work out well before, for any who paid attention.The Turkish warplanes, announcements swore, killed 'terrorists.' Reality, they bombed farming communities and killed civilians.This didn't endear them to the Iraqi people.There was outrage, naturally.

The US government is now scrambling to craft a 'position' on the strikes
-- hoping to approve of Turkey's bombings while still pretending to
respect Iraq's sovereignty.

And that's why there was no press briefing today.

But there's a good chance that, had the State Dept held a press briefing
today, the press would have ignored the issue of Iraq's sovereignty.

Thousands of children are serving as soldiers in armed conflicts around
the world. These boys and girls, some as as young as 8-years-old, serve
in government forces and armed opposition groups. They may fight on the
front lines, participate in suicide missions, and act as spies,
messengers, or lookouts. Girls may be forced into sexual slavery. Many
are abducted or recruited by force, while others join out of
desperation, believing that armed groups offer their best chance for
survival. We are working to prevent the use of child soldiers and to
hold accountable the people who send children to fight.

Children who are poor, displaced from their
families, have limited access to education, or live in a combat zone are
more likely to be forcibly recruited.

Children who are not forced to be soldiers
volunteer themselves because they feel societal pressure and are under
the impression that volunteering will provide a form of income, food, or
security, and willingly join the group.

In the last 2 years, 20 states have been
reported to have child soldiers in government, government-affiliated,
and non-state armed groups. Additionally, 40 states still have minimum
age recruitment requirements under 18 years.

Girls make up an estimated 10 to 30
percent of child soldiers used for fighting and other purposes. They are
especially vulnerable when it comes to sexual violence.

A few of the countries who have reported
use of child soldiers since 2011 are Afghanistan, Colombia, India, Iraq,
Israel, Libya, Mali, Pakistan, Thailand, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

Amnesty International notes:Under international law, the participation of children under 18 in
armed conflict is generally prohibited, and the recruitment and use of
children under 15 is a war crime. Yet worldwide, hundreds of thousands
of children are recruited into government armed forces, paramilitaries,
civil militia and a variety of other armed groups. Often they are
abducted at school, on the streets or at home. Others enlist
"voluntarily", usually because they see few alternatives.Such children are robbed of their childhood and exposed to terrible
dangers and to psychological and physical suffering. They are placed in
combat situations, used as spies, messengers, porters, servants or to
lay or clear landmines. Girls in particular are at risk of rape and
sexual abuse.

And the United Nations maintains, "Regardless of how children are recruited and of their roles, child
soldiers are victims, whose participation in conflict bears serious
implications for their physical and emotional well-being. They are
commonly subject to abuse and most of them witness death, killing, and
sexual violence. Many are forced to perpetrate these atrocities and some
suffer serious long-term psychological consequences. The reintegration
of these children into civilian life is a complex process."

Sometimes the US government expresses dismay or even outrage over the
use of child soldiers . . . when they're used by countries the White
House is in opposition to.

Something the US government calls out . . . when used by opponents.

But something the US government goes along with when it is an ally (permanent or temporary).

We last noted the use of children soldiers by Iraq's Shi'ite militias on July 23rd
when focusing on the United Nations hypocritically condemning the Islamic
State for using children soldiers but ignored the use of the children
soldiers by the so-called 'Popularization Mobilization Forces;'

And what would Kubis like to do with regards to the use of children
soldiers by the "Popularization Mobilization Foces" (Shi'ite militias)?

Because they are using children.

And you can find it all over Arabic media and social media.

And Haider al-Abadi's remarks about the Islamic State and children
soldiers were slammed the minute they were made -- slammed in Arabic
media and Arabic social media -- by critics who pointed out the Shi'ite
militias use of children soldiers (while on the payroll of the Iraqi
government).

This summer, The Associated Press saw over a dozen armed boys on the
front line in western Anbar province, including some as young as 10. Of
around 200 cadets in a training class visited by the AP this month,
about half were under the age of 18, with some as young as 15. Several
said they intended to join their fathers and older brothers on the front
lines.

Salama and Abdul-Zahra explain that the certain forms of military aid
cannot be provided to countries using child soldiers per The Child
Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 and that US "weapons and funding" given
to the Iraqi government does continue onto the so-called 'Popular
Mobilization Forces.' They also note:When informed of the AP findings, the U.S. Embassy in
Baghdad issued a statement saying the U.S. is "very concerned by the
allegations on the use of child soldiers in Iraq among some Popular
Mobilization forces in the fight against ISIL," using an alternate
acronym for the militant group. "We have strongly condemned this
practice around the world and will continue to do so."

Very concerned?

They're not concerned at all.

Arabic social media is not hidden away in Superman's Fortress of Solitude or on Wonder Woman's Paradise Island.

Arabic social media is available to all throughout the world and that does include the US State Dept -- in and out of Iraq.

It is there that the use of child soldiers has been repeatedly documented.

It has also been documented in the Iraqi press.

There's no way the US Embassy in Iraq was hearing of it for the first time when AP contacted them for a statement.

But because AP has a major report on the subject, the Embassy issued a weak-ass, do-nothing statement.

And unless other news outlets follow up on the topic, that statement will be it.

They will lapse back into their silent cooperation or, worse, silent encouragement.

The Islamic State is a violent group that resorts to terrorism.

Their use of children soldiers is not shocking.

But US officials -- including Samantha Power -- have condemned them for this use.

The Iraqi government is not supposed to be a terrorist organization.

Yet US officials remain silent over their use of children soldiers.

Hypocrisy remains the common thread of US foreign policy regardless of which party controls the White House and/or the Congress.